Mike King, veteran AJC editor and writer, Joins Hayslett Group LLC as Senior Counsel

Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution medical and healthcare writer Mike King has joined Hayslett Group LLC as Senior Counsel, the firm announced.

King joins Hayslett Group following a 36-year newspaper career that focused heavily on science, medicine and health policy. In his final assignment at the AJC, King served as a member of the newspaper's editorial board and was responsible for commentary on important state, local and national issues, including health care reform, SCHIP, Georgia's mental health system, racial disparities in health outcomes and public health funding.

His series of "Saving Grady" editorials - 46 over a period of 18 months - outlined the scope of the problem with Georgia's largest public hospital, proposed solutions and the roles local and state government should be playing to address the issue of indigent care funding. Decision-makers in metro Atlanta credit the newspaper, and King's editorials, with providing the impetus needed to eventually reshape Grady's governance and help the hospital begin to reverse its cycle of debt.

Hayslett Group, an Atlanta-based communications firm established in 1994, has long had one of Georgia's most experienced and effective healthcare communications practices. Over the years, the firm has managed communications and grassroots campaigns that have, among other achievements, helped defeat legislative assaults on the state's certificate-of-need system, put trauma funding on a statewide ballot, and re-establish the state's public health agency as a standalone department.

"Mike King is a tremendous addition to the Hayslett Group team," said Charles N. Hayslett, the firm's founder and CEO. "Few people can match his depth of knowledge on medical matters and health policy, let alone his abilities as a thinker and a writer, and he has earned tremendous standing in health care circles in Georgia and beyond. I am very pleased to be able to bring him onto our team."

"For me, this is an excellent fit," said King. "Over the years, Hayslett Group has proven itself to be a capable and credible communicator on medicine and health care, among many other subjects. They have a strong track record of enabling their clients to communicate effectively about often complicated and intricate messages."

King began his journalism career in 1972 at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., serving over 15 years as a reporter, editor and Washington correspondent. As a Washington reporter in 1982, he was among the first to link the tobacco industry's stealth cigarette marketing campaigns to teenage smoking. He was recruited to the AJC in 1987 and served over the next 21 years as a science and medical writer and editor; then as Metro Editor supervising more than 125 reporters and editors, and then as the public editor before finally moving to the editorial board. He retired from the AJC in 2008.

Guerilla Marketing...for Public Health?

Oz magazine recently showcased Hayslett Group’s Partner Up for Public Health! Campaign in action. Partner Up! for Public Health is a statewide advocacy campaign funded by Healthcare Georgia Foundation and designed to advance public health in Georgia. The campaign was launched in October 2009 as part of a multifaceted effort to rebuild a public health system that has been decimated by budget cuts in recent years. The article highlights PUPH’s student health video contest, which featured public "stickering" – guerrilla marketing at its best!

Check it out on pages 36-37 of the spring 2012 issue of Oz Magazine

Can There be Trust in Government?

Recently, Hayslett Group's Michelle Fry was asked to contribute a feature article on government and communications in Atlanta for the IABC/Atlanta magazine, empart.

Government touches us all. And right now it is the cold hand of insecurity that is changing and shaping communications messages to a variety of audiences.

Or so I thought.

Yes, the economy struggles, and the future of our healthcare is unknown.

Taxes change, credit disappears and budgets are cut. Environmental preservation and energy growth rise in conflict. I could go on and on. Every day, government decisions affect messages within our organizations, in the marketplace and around the dinner table.

What about government insiders? How are communications professionals in governmental organizations working within an environment that appears so fraught with gloom and doom? As part of our industry spotlight series, empart magazine sat down with three government communicators to get some perspective. What they shared was both surprising and inspiring.

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Turning the Tide – Transparency and Good Stewardship

Before the recession hit, the number of individuals who said they trusted the government, "always" or "most of the time", was in the low-to-mid 30's. Slightly more than a decade ago, trust was in the high 30's and occasionally over 40 percent. As of September 2011, it’s 15 percent, according to a poll by CNN.

With this as a backdrop, it was exciting to hear from three well-respected federal and local agencies – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) and Fulton County. Their organizations are not only committed to increasing confidence and trust in government, but are also succeeding.

With the economy as it is, and government spending at the top of everyone’s list, it is only logical that the first place to focus on building trust is to increase transparency and communicate acts of good stewardship.

For example, CDC has felt the effects of the economy and experienced budget reductions in the past few years. In response, the agency has streamlined efforts to run as tight a ship as possible. This included a restructuring of the communications office in 2010. CDC recognizes the value of communicating and developing valuable programs, but has also made an effort to stay lean. “We are trying to do what we can to have a secure nation from a health perspective,” says Barbara Reynolds, acting director, Division of News and Electronic Media, Office of the Associate Director for Communication, CDC. “All of our communications depend upon trust and credibility with our audiences. While it is never a good time to cut back on work being done to protect the nation, the CDC is always working to be as accountable as possible with taxpayer dollars. We are committed to work with less to do more.”

IABC member Ericka Davis, who serves as Fulton County’s director of communications, told us that Fulton’s efforts at accountability go far beyond traditional transparency initiatives. “I think citizens are always watching government to see if their tax dollars are being spent wisely, and that we’re being good stewards,” says Davis. “Most criticism and distrust comes from a lack of knowledge and understanding of the process.”

So this year, Fulton County educated and engaged the public with a series of Citizen Sense Budget Sessions. Citizens were given “money,” a list of county programs and services and guidance as to which services were mandated by law. Participants were then asked to share how they would spend the available funds. They were even given the opportunity to raise taxes. “Every single citizen who attended came away saying: 1) We have a really tough job making the determination of what to fund, 2) They had a better understanding of how the process worked and 3) They appreciated the opportunity. It was awesome!”

At the state level, Nicole Linton, IABC member and public relations manager with the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) Public Affairs Division, works hard to communicate positive financial news. As a result, more than $300 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), GEFA expanded its water, sewer, energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Instead of working in an atmosphere of budget cuts, Linton was tasked with communicating financial boon and new opportunity. With the expansion and addition of programs in the agency’s communications programming, Linton found herself taking traditional PR and marketing strategies to a new level, adding and expanding tactics to meet her audiences’ voracious appetite for “good news.”

Communicators Committed - Innovation and Outreach

In today’s challenging economic and budgetary climate, government communicators are faced with a public starved for information, clarity and assistance. Reynolds, Linton and Davis have risen to the occasion with ideas, innovations, humor and help. Most importantly, they are making themselves increasingly available to citizens, organizations and businesses.

At the CDC, Reynolds noted that government communications is experiencing a lot of change. No longer is there a set news cycle; information is moving at the speed of light and through a plethora of channels. In response, the CDC has become a leader around the use of social media in a government context. For example, after the White House, the CDC has the most Twitter interaction of all government offices with 1.3 million followers.

“Lots of people are paying attention. It’s interesting, and we are developing a real sense of how these channels should be used effectively. Everything we do here [in social media] is an effort to be trusted and credible. We strive for an authentic relationship with the public.”

That authentic relationship has allowed the CDC to use humor and creativity to draw attention to one initiative – emergency preparedness. A member at the CDC wrote a blog entry on how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. (Yes – you read that correctly.) You can imagine the cult following, reposts, comments and resulting media coverage this created – all which drew attention to the message at hand. The post was followed up by a free, downloadable, zombie comic book on preparedness.

Fulton County’s online interactivity has expanded in droves. Recent efforts include: Fulton Focus, an e-newsletter; Fulton Features, a monthly e-version overview of media coverage; Ask F.R.A.N. (Fulton County’s Research Access Network), an electronic research repository; and live Twitter chats on tax assessments, foreclosures and the budget. The county also has expanded its Facebook presence, and even hosted a live town hall meeting on the budget where citizens could watch on TV, online and call, email, tweet or post questions in real time. “We’ve been working hard to find ways to communicate to our citizens and stakeholders,” says Davis.

Perhaps the county’s biggest success is its new-and-improved website. Due to citizen feedback and a C- rating from online government watch dog, The Sunshine Review, Fulton County has spent the last two years creating a website that meets audience needs. Simple navigation, better organization and a new transparency section, “Eye on Fulton,” has resulted in an updated A+ rating and positive feedback from citizens.

A Light in the Dark – Resources for Troubled Times

Fulton’s website was deemed A+ because citizens could turn to Fulton County and find what they wanted and what they needed. Davis says, “As citizens find themselves facing their own economic challenges, the need for government becomes more pronounced, not less so. For example, something as simple as going to a bookstore and buying books now becomes a luxury, and you will see more citizens using our libraries to check out books or use computers. Citizens who work in places without health insurance turn to public health facilities for care. Interest in our services definitely increases.”

Communicating the availability of services and making them easy to access has become critical in recent years, and has spotlighted government organizations as they serve as valuable resources for citizens and organizations who need help.

For example, GEFA’s programs, such as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program and Georgia’s Clean Energy Property Rebate Program, make it possible for community developments to save money, and increase community value as they are developed in environmentally and cost-efficient ways. The expansion of programs, such as the Weatherization Assistance Program, has made it possible for thousands of low-income residents to improve their homes’ energy efficiency– saving money and improving the overall effect on Georgia’s environment. All of these programs increased GEFA communications efforts, from announcing funding to communicating information and updates on individual projects.

At the CDC, the agency has a straightforward policy as a resource: nothing they produce is copyrighted, and it is available to all. The CDC Learning Connection (www.cdc.gov/learning) exists as a forum for those looking for tools in their own world. CDC partners with state and local health agencies, and budgets at all levels are being decimated. To fill the gaps, the CDC tries to share communications expertise and research, in addition to developing and offering products like PR tool kits, templates, advertising, etc., which can be tailored for a community.

“The CDC is committed to sharing knowledge and making ourselves available 24/7. We are a mere phone call or email away," says Reynolds.

Read the full issue of empart online.

HG wins IABC Silver Flame for Physician Recruitment Mailer

Four Corners Primary Care Center, Inc., a Federally Qualified Health Center located in Norcross, GA provides non-emergency, affordable and accessible healthcare for families. After learning about the center’s desire to grow their single-physician practice, Hayslett Group worked with the program director to create a marketing plan to recruit a new full-time physician to the facility. A central piece of that plan included the creation of direct mail pieces for each target (Family Practice and Internal Medicine), which Hayslett Group developed and produced. The challenge was to position the opening as a unique opportunity without disclosing salary details, and to make it attractive to physicians in a highly competitive metro market.

Audiences: Family Practice and Internal Medicine physicians in Metro Atlanta (2,250)

Implementation: Hayslett Group interviewed the interim CEO of the facility and worked with the county director of public relations and health promotions to develop a marketing piece for physician recruitment. Several conversations with leadership unearthed the special benefits that this government funded clinic offered (govt. holidays, tuition reimbursement, set hours, no paperwork). Hayslett Group wrote and designed the piece and coordinated production and distribution of the piece.

Evaluation: Within four weeks of distribution, the facility received inquiries regarding the position, totaling 10 candidates over an approx. 12 week time span.

For more on the IABC Golden Flames, visit http://atlanta.iabc.com/awards/.

Big Expo, Big Connections

Hayslett Group’s Dori Mendel and Jessica Hayslett tackled the networking scene at this year’s 2011 Gwinnett Big Expo Event at the Gwinnett Center. The August 18^th expo, which showcased a large number of Gwinnett and Metro Atlanta based companies and organizations, was bustling with energy and excitement. Set to “Refresh, Refocus and Reenergize” the masses, Mendel and Hayslett spent the day sharing client stories and keeping attendees cool with HG water bottles. Overall, Hayslett Group marked another successful year of making connections and learning about the dynamic businesses of Gwinnett. Leads from the expo event serve as a reminder of the power of branding and marketing, and that it’s always good to engage in professional community events.

New Client: Carlock Copeland & Stair (CCS)

Carlock Copeland & Stair (CCS), a law firm of nearly 80 attorneys, works with private companies and insurers throughout the Southeast on civil litigation issues. The firm specializes in commercial, health care, trucking and transportation, and construction litigation as well as general liability. Hayslett Group will be working with CCS to redesign the firm's publication and collateral materials.

For more information, visit www.carlockcopeland.com

New Client: Georgia Association of REALTORS

Over the years, the Georgia Association of REALTORS (GAR) has worked with Hayslett Group on a number of projects including a public affairs campaign featuring eminent domain rights and annual media training sessions for GAR leadership. This year, GAR turned to Hayslett Group again for help in developing and producing a membership benefits video.

For more information on the Georgia Association of REALTORS, visit www.garealtor.com.

A Decade of Devotion

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hayslett Group associate Ann Collins. Ann’s combination of corporate and community experience, from BellSouth to real estate and after school arts programming, helped land Ann at Hayslett Group in a tale of “being in the right place at the right time.”

Ten years ago, Ann stood on her employer’s loading dock sorting through furniture that the newly bankrupt company was selling. It was at that moment that Ann came across Kackie Gilbert, who inquired about the furniture and situation. After sharing the story of the company and leading Kackie to the office to view the remaining furniture, the two got to talking. It turned out Kackie was the vice president of a local public relations firm, Hayslett Sorrell, and they were looking for a receptionist. That introduction led to an interview with Charlie and Judy Hayslett and onto a career at Hayslett Group. A true story of fate.

Over the past decade, Ann has been an instrumental member of Hayslett Group and has assisted with a number of outreach projects, proving time and time again to be an indispensible part of our firm family. As we look to the next decade of success at Hayslett Group, we look forward to the continued involvement and dedication of our employees, like Ann, of whom we’re thankful to have in the right place at the right time.

Introducing Katie Weiser, MPH, as a Partner Up! for Public Health Intern

On behalf of Hayslett Group and the Partner Up! for Public Health campaign, we would like to take a moment to recognize Katie Weiser, MPH, as a summer intern for the Partner Up! for Public Health campaign.

Partner Up! for Public Health, funded by Healthcare Georgia Foundation, is a statewide advocacy campaign designed to advance public health in Georgia.

We met Katie at the Georgia Public Health Association's 82nd Annual Meeting & Conference in April. She is a recent Masters of Public Health (MPH) graduate from the University of Georgia and we are thrilled to have her on board to help us advance public health in Georgia.

In addition to day-to-day responsibilities related to the campaign, Katie has specifically been tasked with locating and engaging academic and student communities in Georgia.

Most recently, Katie launched a Partner Up! Student Internship Program that is housed as a Student Portal on our campaign website. This initiative is designed to connect knowledgeable public health students with meaningful internships. Organizations are encouraged to post available internship opportunities and/or capstone project opportunities directly on the site.

A Video Contest is another way Katie is looking to engage student and academic communities. The Video Contest, scheduled to launch in the fall, will mirror the "This is Public Health" national campaign and will hopefully engage students at all nine public health schools across the state.

She is also working directly on several items with Michelle Putnam, MPH, executive director for HealthSTAT and Amanda Ptashkin, J.D., outreach and advocacy director for Georgians for a Healthy Future.

Learn more about the Partner Up! for Public Health campaign by visiting our website and to view our Student Portal that features available internships across the state, click here.

For additional questions or comments, contact us directly partnerup@togetherwecandobetter.com.

Hayslett Group Launches Facebook Page

Check us out on Facebook, and if you're feeling friendly...like us!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hayslett-Group/186572411394030

The No-No Deck

Creative Director Michelle Fry spent last Thursday evening on the No-No Deck at Roswell’s North of NOLA restaurant for a steamy evening of networking with members of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber hosts several networking opportunities for members and non-members each month, and most are hosted by a Chamber member. Michelle had a great time meeting other local business folk, sippin’ a Purple Haze and nibbling on deep fried jalapenos!